Power saws are a type of cutting tool, which are useful for quickly and easily cutting material, such as construction lumber and other building products. A common type of power saw is a portable circular saw, which includes a foot plate, and a circular saw blade that extends below the foot plate. Typically, a user cuts a workpiece with a circular saw by resting the foot plate on the workpiece, aligning the saw blade with a desired cut path, and then manually guiding the circular saw in the direction of the cut path, often following a marked line on the workpiece.
The foot plate is typically pivotally connected to a housing of the circular saw, and defines an opening through which the blade extends. The depth of cut made by the saw blade is controllable by adjusting the pivotal position of the foot plate. For example, the circular saw may be configured to make a shallow cut in or through a workpiece by pivoting the foot plate to a position in which only a small portion of the saw blade extends from the bottom of the foot plate. The circular saw may be configured to make a deep cut in or through a workpiece by pivoting the foot plate to a position in which a greater portion of the saw extends from the bottom of the foot plate.
The typical circular saw includes a clamp mechanism for fixing the pivotal position of the foot plate relative to the circular saw blade. The clamp mechanism typically includes a fastening member that is movable between a clamped position in which the foot plate is maintained in a fixed position and an unclamped position in which the foot plate is movable relative to the circular saw blade.
The fastening member of the clamp mechanism provided on the typical circular saw is often removable from the circular saw, thereby increasing the chance of misplacing or losing the fastening member. Additionally, the fastening member of a typical clamp mechanism may be easily over-tightened or under-tightened. An over-tightened fastening member imparts additional stress on the clamp mechanism and may result in failure of the clamp mechanism. Whereas, an under-tightened clamp mechanism may not adequately fix the position of the foot plate.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a circular saw having an improved clamp mechanism for fixing the position of the foot plate relative to the circular saw blade.